Political insomnia

I cannot sleep. For a change, this sleeplessness is NOT due to my beloved unplanned pregnancy but to the turbulent world’s suspense of all that hangs in the balance of today’s already unfolding events. I cannot think into the possibility of Obama NOT winning without feeling the hint of emerging hives. The spectre of another stolen election leaving us with the deadly wonder twins and their certain path of peril is so deeply depressing and ominous that I skip lightly over the thought in my mind when it arises.

I have had numerous conversations that remind me of the pervasive misconceptions and prejudices that will frighteningly play themselves out on a loaded national and international stage this election day. I remember an 18 year old who said he won’t vote for Obama because he’s an “iraqi”. Blase called an “undecided” voter who lambasted the democrats for their stupidity in choosing a “foreigner” for their candidate. NPR interviewed voters a couple of weeks ago who repeatedly said they wouldn’t vote for Obama because they “don’t trust him”. When pressed for reasons behind their stated mistrust, many said, “he’s Muslim”. After the interviewer’s correction, reminding the voters that he was actually Christian, more went onto say that they would rather vote for an “American who was born here”. Again, the interviewer clarified that Obama was actually born in Kansas. “Oh”, some replied, “well, I just don’t trust him…….he’s black,” they concluded.

Lately, when I drive to town to town to do errands, I torture myself briefly by listening to conservative (aka mainstream) radio stations for as long as my stomach can take it. This is usually a matter of 3-4 minutes but long enough to hear the repeated discussions of Obama as “barack HUSSEIN Obama”. You can really only hear the HUSSEIN part followed by a faint Obama. Listeners calling in repeat this again and again… “HUSSEIN Obama…” This manipulation and hate/fear mongering propaganda, though not suprising, is painful to hear.

Today is monumental. Let it be a day of massive change in a hopeful, sane direction. VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!